


Queer Eye For the Gas Station Guy

by EveryHybrid



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Tales from the Gas Station
Genre: M/M, Tales from the gas station - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveryHybrid/pseuds/EveryHybrid
Summary: Jerry calls the Fab 5 on local sadboi Jack Townsend. Chaos ensues.
Relationships: Jack/Jerry (Tales From the Gas Station)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	1. The Testimony

_The video cut in as the shaggy blond leaned back in his chair and stared, eyes half lidded, at the camera for a solid minute before he seemed to remember that he'd turned it on for a reason._

_"Oh! So I was Netflix and chilling one night when I came across the show. I binged the whole first two seasons right there and totally didn't cry. Okay, I did cry. But all I could think about, and this might have been the shots, was how awesome it would be if you guys came to see my buddy Jack."_

A different scene cut in. A man was sitting on a stool behind the counter at a gas station, reading a book with his chin in his hands. His hair was an unruly mess, his eyes had bags under them, and his clothes were hanging off of him.

_"Jack's a great guy. He's nice, he's caring, he's really cute," Jerry's eyes glazed over for a second as he seemed to dwell on that last bit. "Oh, and he's a hot mess. I think he just needs a little help, but he won't listen to me or any of our friends. He can be kinda' stubborn."_

They were in the living room of a pretty nice looking house. The camera crew is being led inside by Jerry. Jack is on the couch under a pile of blankets with one over his head like a hood. He's still reading and he still has deep bags under his eyes.

"Jerry, what are you doing?" Jack looked up at the cameras and crew with mild confusion and concern.

"It's just a thing," Jerry answered vaguely as he led them back towards Jack's room.

"Oh. Okay."

_"But I really think that, with some TLC and encouragement from the Fab 5, Jack could be so much happier. I just want him to be happy…" Jerry paused to wipe his eye. "Anyways, if you guys could come out here, that'd be the [beep]'s [beep]."_

"So this is Jack's room, but don't let him know I let you guys in here." The bedroom was fairly neat, except for the pile of books on the bed.

"Where does he sleep?" One of the camera guys asked.

"Oh, he doesn't. Well, he does now that he's on his meds, but it's usually only for an hour or so and I think on the couch."

"Oh…"

The camera cut to the Fab 5 in their Atlanta headquarters.

"He doesn't sleep?" Karamo tilted his head and scrunched his brow at the camera.

"Aww, what a sweet "friend" Jerry is," Jonathan giggled. "And a little drunk. And I think high."

" _Definitely_ high," Antoni said.

"So are they together or…?" Tan looked at the others with mild confusion.

"Oh, they're "roommates"," Jonathan said gleefully.

"Oh!" The other said in unison and laughed, exchanging knowing looks.

The voice over cut in as B-roll of the town played. "We knew we had our work cut out for us. Pack your bags, boys, because we're going to Louisiana!"


	2. The Arrival

Jack was sitting behind the counter, minding his own business as usual. He was once again reading a book and resting his chin in his palm. He only looked up when someone came up to the counter and aggressively set the most expensive bottle of booze (which still wasn't that expensive) that the gas station sold down on the counter in front of him.

Jack closed his book and looked up at his customer. It was clear to him that this man wasn't from around here, but if Jack had questions, he sure didn't show it.

"Hey there handsome," Jonathan crooned, "Your finest wine, please." 

"That'll be sixteen fifty." Jack didn't so much as raise an eyebrow. 

"Okay, hun." Jonathan dug into his wallet, then continued to try and get literally any kind of reaction out of Jack. "Maybe you can come share it with me when you get out of here."

"No thank you."

"Wow, you weren't kidding. Nothing really surprises him, huh?" Bobby was slightly amused as he watched the interaction from the tablet screen in the truck. Jerry was crammed inside with the other Fab 5 members, watching the whole thing from a hidden camera streaming on Jonathan. Their plan was to surprise Jack because, in Jerry's words, "He'd skip town if he knew." But getting any kind of reaction out of the clerk was easier said than done.

"Hey wait, don't I know you?" Recognition had just lit up in Jack's eyes, and Jonathan smiled from ear to ear and flipped his fabulous hair. 

"Depends. Do you have good taste?"

"You were in some show my roommate was watching the other night, weren't you?"

"Ooo, now's our chance!" Antoni began ushering the others out of the truck and inside the building, Jerry behind them. They burst through the doors together.

"Jack Townsend, you're a wanted man!" Karamo announced as he led the charge. "Wanted and adored, that is."

Jack blinked a couple times, then looked at Jerry. "Jerry, what did you do?" 

"Oh this?" Jerry said innocently, "It's nothing. I just might have called these guys to come out and give you a few pointers is all. You know, like life coaching! But you don't have to pay for it! Oh, also it's televised." 

Just as he said that, the camera crew came in. Jack was silent as he looked around the room. He was silent as he logged himself out of the register. He was silent as he picked up his book and walked out.

"Uh oh." Jerry frowned. 


	3. Culture

Jerry ran to catch up with Jack before he could get too far. Fortunately, the camera crew had the tact to know not to follow them. 

“Hey, come on pal! You’re not mad, are you?” Jerry jogged up beside him and gave Jack a look of fearful concern. Had he finally crossed too far over the line? 

“Jerry, what the hell is that in there?” Jack stopped short and turned to face his best friend, his finger pointing accusingly at the gas station. “A TV crew? Really?!”

Jerry cringed. “I just wanted to help.”

“Help me what? Have a breakdown?!”

“You’re really mad, huh?” 

Jack paused his scolding to notice just how much like a kicked puppy Jerry looked right now. He took a deep breath, let it out, and then spoke in a calmer toner. “I’m not mad. I just don’t want to do this. Whatever...this is.”

Before Jerry could speak up, the two were interrupted. Karamo walked up to them cautiously while the other Fab 5 watched from behind the glass windows of the gas station. 

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself,” He held his hand out to Jack. “I’m Karamo Brown. Your friend Jerry invited us here to come help you out with a few things.” 

“Sorry,” Jack said quickly, turning down the handshake. “I’m sorry for wasting your time, but I really don’t-”

“I understand,” Karamo said before Jack could finish rejecting his offer. “But, since we _did_ drive here all the way from Atlanta to meet you, I was hoping you would at least take a walk with me and have a talk? No cameras, no recording. Just a talk. What’s the worst that could happen?” 

Did he want him to answer that honestly? Jack’s shoulders fell in defeat. He _did_ feel bad that they came all this way, even though it wasn’t even remotely his fault. “Fine, sure. We can do that.”

Karamo clapped his hands together and smiled. “Great. Jerry, why don’t you go entertain the others while we’re gone.” 

“I’ll show them that new party trick with the string!” Jerry burst into a grin and ran back towards the gas station. 

Jack kicked a stray rock before he started walking with Karamo up the road. This felt weird. Jack was such a private person, and having five dudes bust into his life with cameras and trying to do whatever it was they were doing felt invasive. He couldn’t wait until it was over.

“So,” Karamo started after they walked in silence for a bit. “Tell me a little about Jack.”

“Uh...well...I work at this gas station…” Jack didn’t know what to say. What _was_ there to say? 

“I noticed. But what about Jack _outside_ of work. What does he do?” Karamo gently pressed. 

“I like to read,” Jack offered. “Uh...Yeah, I like to read.” 

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“Not really.”

“Play any sports?” 

“No.”

“Do anything with friends?”

“All my friends work here too. I mostly just see them at work” 

Karamo frowned. This was going to be difficult. “So, what I’m seeing is a guy who’s whole identity is tied to his job. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying work, Jack, but your whole life seems to be... _work_. Don’t you want to do something more than work?”

“I don’t know...I guess work is just,” It was hard to find the right word. “Comfortable. I’ve gotten into a sort of rhythm with it, you know?”

“How did you get into this rhythm?”

“Oh. Well, not too long ago, I was pretty sure I was gonna’ die soon, so I just kind of gave up on everything else, I guess?” 

Karamo stopped dead in his tracks. “I’m sorry, _what_?” 

Jack stopped too. “Oh, yeah, there was this whole thing where I was misdiagnosed with a fatal prion disease and I spent the last few years thinking I was going to drop dead any second.” The other man looked as though he’d just been slapped. 

“Jack, that’s _horrible_. I can’t even imagine the mental toll that must have had on you.”

“Yeah...it was pretty not great, I guess.”

“That explains the depression vibe you give off. Oh, no offence.”

“None taken.” They slowly started walking again. 

“So,” Karamo carefully prodded. “When would you say was the last time you were happy with your life? Not content, but actually _happy_.”

Jack was quiet for a while, and Karamo was afraid he may not answer. “I guess when Sa-...one of my old friends was still around.” 

“Oh. Were they a friend friend? Or a _special_ friend?” Maybe they were getting somewhere now. 

“We dated. On and off. She was my best friend, and sometimes girlfriend.”

“Do you want to talk about her?”

“Not really.”

Karamo nodded. He made a mental note of that conversation should it ever come up again, but didn’t press the matter for now. He didn’t want Jack to shut down when they were finally starting to get somewhere.

“Have you ever seen a therapist about all this?”

“I had one once.”

“How was that?”

“Not great. I think he might have been trying to subliminally tell me to kill myself?” 

Karamo balked again for the second time. “He _what_?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Oh...okay…” This conversation was going south quickly. “Well, Jerry told us you two were roommates. You must be good friends if you work _and_ live together.”

“Yeah, Jerry’s pretty cool. Sometimes he does stupid stuff, though.” Like sic a reality show on him. “Us living together has really helped me out a lot, I think. He does a lot of the cooking and drives me to work. I haven’t really gotten the hang of driving with the prosthetic and all.”

“You have a prosthetic?” 

“Oh, yeah.” Jack pulled up his pant leg to show off his fake shin. “It’s pretty cool. I can get around pretty well with it.” 

“Do you mind if I ask what happened?” Karamo hadn’t been prepared for this either. Jerry never mentioned that Jack had any sort of disability. 

“Oh, uh, this psychopath that hates my guts pushed me down a really deep hole and broke it, and then it got infected, and uh, yeah, that was that.”

Karamo went quiet for a bit as he rolled all this around in his head. “It seems to me like you’ve had a lot of misfortune in your life, Jack. I can see how all these things would continue to affect your day to day life. Hell, if _half_ that crap happened to me, I’d probably never leave my house. But you’ve powered through it. You’ve got a strength in you that others might not see, but I see it, and I know your friend Jerry sees it too. That’s why he called on us to come help you. He wants you to be the best you can be, and so do we.” Karamo stopped and turned to face Jack. “I know it can be uncomfortable to change, but you can’t keep living your life like nothing matters. _You_ matter. We’re just here to help you see that. Do you think you could let us do that?” 

Jack blinked. He looked a little stunned. He’d never really thought about it that way, but Karamo was right. Here he was, still living like he would die tomorrow, even though he knew he had a whole life ahead of him now. He was stuck in the past, letting all the shitty things that had happened to him still drag him down. He was _afraid_ to change, but now he realized that if he didn't, his whole newfound life would be wasted. His friends, his job, Jerry...they'd all been through so much, he owed it to them to actually act like he was still alive. 

“Yeah...I guess I could try.”


	4. Design

After coaxing an extremely bland interview out of Jack, the gang packed up and headed to the house. Jack wasn’t sure what the Fab 5 thought his and Jerry’s dwelling was going to look like, but their current home was clearly not it. 

“Wow...this is...actually pretty nice,” Bobby said as they walked in. He’d made a comment about the ‘unique’ lawn decorations Jerry had created, but Jack had been sure to put his foot down when his roomie tried to add his personal touch to the inside. The living room was pretty neat, aside from Jack’s blanket nest on the couch. He’d let Jerry add fairy lights, which, he had to admit, gave it a nice, warm feeling. The guys were clearly impressed.

“This doesn’t look at all like what I imagined the house of two straight guys looking like,” Bobby continued.

“Hint hint,” Antoni murmured as he leaned towards Jonathan, who laughed. 

“Uh, thanks?” Jack said. He didn’t think it was a good time to point out that Jerry was definitely not straight. 

“So what’s going on with this?” Bobby asked as he approached the couch and gestured at the pile of blankets. The others guys spread out to investigate the rest of the house. Jonathan went straight for the bathroom drawers, Tan to Jack’s bedroom closet, and Antoni made a beeline for the kitchen. 

“That’s where I sit and read typically,” Jack said as he came over to nervously straighten up the mess. 

“Do you sleep here, too?”

“Sometimes.”

“What’s wrong with your bed?”

“Well…”

They ventured back towards Jack’s bedroom, Jack trailing behind Bobby, anticipating the coming freak out. 

“Excuse me, sir? Have you ever heard of a bookshelf?” Bobby laughed as he saw the piles of books sitting on the bed. “Jack, how are you supposed to get any sleep with a whole Barnes and Nobles on your bed?” 

“I don’t, typically.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. I usually just cat nap on the couch.”

“Well not anymore! Our first step is going to be to transform one of these rooms into a library!” Bobby spun around, a wide, excited grin on his face. “How does that sound?”

“Pretty nice, actually.” It had never really occurred to Jack to make one of the several bedrooms in the house into a library. He could have his own reading nook, and he wouldn’t have to fight with Jerry for couch space. 

“Ooh Bobby!” Jonathan sang from the bathroom, “I see another project for you!” 

Jack followed him in, and they stopped at shower/tub combo. 

“Jack, dear, why is there a lawn chair in your shower?” Bobby tilted his head and blinked. 

“It’s so I can sit down when I take my prosthetic off. I slipped and fell once and this was Jerry’s solution.”

“Ok, so we’re adding a shower revamp to our project list!” Bobby said. “We can redo this 80’s tile to something a little more modern, take out this tub and make it a walk in, add a nice bench seat, and a couple safety rails for good measure. Boom, no more falling, and no more lawn chairs!” 

“Okay.” Jack wasn’t really a fan of that ugly yellow tile anyways. Bobby made a few more notes of the bathroom and what could be added and updated, then turned to leave. He froze and looked perplexed at the lawn gnome that was now blocking the door. 

"Was that there before?" He asked, pointing at the tiny intruder.

Jack shrugged. "Probably not."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Jonathan's probably messing around." 

Jack doubted that, but he wasn't going to step on the man's ideas. Bobby walked around the gnome and led Jack towards the backyard.

"Well, speaking of garden gnomes, Jerry told us you have quite the green thumb."

"He did?"

"Yeah. He said you grew some kind of exotic plants at your gas station."

"Oh. Well, that wasn't exactly what-" Jack paused. Did he really want to open that can of worms? "Yeah, I guess." 

"Well Anonti and I thought we could collaborate and make you and Jerry a nice herb and sculpture garden! He could have a space for his...creations, and you can grow some fresh herbs for the dishes Antoni will teach you how to make."

"That sounds nice." Jack had a feeling the herbs wouldn't last long. Basil wasn't quite as robust as the hand plants had been. 

"I'll work on some plans and run them by you in a bit. I'm thinking you two need a fire pit, a pergola, some stepping stones-"

"There he is!" Jonathan ran out to grab Jack by the arm. "Sorry Bobby, but you've been hogging Mr. Popularity for too long. Come on Jack, your hair and I have a date!" 


	5. Grooming

"You have a great look," Jonathan was teasing his hair while Jack stared at himself in the mirror. Having been unable to find a salon suitable for the show in town, Jonathan had settled on using the master bathroom for his segment. Jack was sat in one of the kitchen chairs with a hair cutting cape draped over him.

"Oh, thanks." He didn't get compliments on his looks very often, aside from Jerry goofing around, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't starting to enjoy the extra attention a bit. It was strange, but also kind of nice.

"Now, I just want to talk about the products I found in here, mister." Jonathan adopted a tone of mock scolding as he slammed the bottle of Suave 2 in 1 on the counter. "What is this?"

"That's my shampoo," Jack answered, now only slightly intimidated. 

"This stuff does some awful things to your hair, Jack, and your cute little curls deserve better. The chemicals in this product strip away your hair's natural oils and cause it to over produce to make up for it, leaving it with this, er, greasy look." He plucked at one of Jack's shiny curls. 

"Oh. I didn't know that. I just liked the smell." 

"That's okay, it's nothing that can't be fixed. Now, I didn't find any body wash. What do you use in the shower."

"The 2 in 1."

Jonathan groaned and dramatically buried his face in his hands. "Oh Jack, you have such a case of the sad bachelor. We're going to go to the store and find you a shampoo, a conditioner, and a body wash that don't come in the same bottle." 

"Okay." Jack hoped he didn't notice that the soap dispenser by the sink was  _ also _ filled with Suave 2 in 1.

"For now, I'll dip into my personal supply and we'll get you all washed, cut, and dried!" Jonathan set his large salon bag on the counter and began going on about Jack's current look and what would look best on him. Jack fell into a routine of agreeing with whatever he was saying, no matter what it was. Jonathan  _ was _ the professional here, he probably knew best. That was, until a set of words snapped Jack back into consciousness. "And I'd really like to set you up on a nice date with Jerry. He thinks the world of you, and maybe it's not my business, but you two are so cute together!"

"What?" Jack blinked, then stared at Jonathan's reflection in the mirror in confusion. 

"You heard me, Mr. Townsend. Don't think we all missed the way you look at him. And I can't believe how obvious he's being and you've just missed it."

"I don't think Jerry thinks about me like that. We're just best friends."

Jonathan chuckled. "Oh Jack, you sweet summer child. I promise if you walked out there right now and asked that man on a date, he'd swoon. The question isn't how Jerry feels about you, it's how  _ you _ feel about  _ Jerry _ . You come off as a little shy about your feelings, and that's fine. But I think you should at least be honest with yourself for your own and his sake."

Jack was silent. He thought back on the warm and fuzzy feeling he got sometimes when he and Jerry played video games on the couch until Jerry fell asleep slumped against him. He thought about how good Jerry looked when Rosa cut his hair and trimmed up his beard for him. There was no denying it; Jack was absolutely head over heels for Jerry. But he always assumed that Jerry didn't and never would return those feelings. They were just good friends, and there was no sense ruining that.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, half skeptical, half hopeful. 

"One hundred percent." Jonathan put the last touch on Jack's new hair cut, which consisted of a fade with his curls on top left untouched. Jack would never have asked for this style himself, and that mostly because he wouldn't have known how. But he liked it.

"Tan will get you all dressed up and handsome, and after that, I want to see that confident Jack that I know is in there," Jonathan poked a finger into Jack's chest. "Now run along and get  _ snatched _ !"


	6. Style

Tan came across as sophisticated and, honestly, a bit intimidating at first. Jack suddenly felt very self conscious of his wardrobe when presented to the immaculately dressed man before him. His collection of Wal-Mart hoodies, long sleeve shirts with holes around the cuffs, and Goodwill jeans was pretty telling.

"You come across to me as a man who values comfort," Tan noted as he picked through Jack's closet. "I'm seeing a lot of the same shirt and hoodie in the same four colors."

"Yeah. I kind of just find one I like and buy it in black, grey, maroon, and navy." Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he sat on his bed. 

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be comfortable, but your comfort zone is very, well, _limited._ "

There was that phrase again: comfort zone. Apparently, Jack had set up camp inside this zone and refused to leave it. He'd never really realized how much he dressed like a cartoon character, wearing the same outfit every day, until Tan laid it all out for him. 

"I think we can find a compromise that will look both nicer _and_ be comfortable. You like long sleeves?"

"I get cold easily." 

"Then let's explore some layering options. You can have a short sleeved T-shirt under a nice denim or flannel button up that's warm, and adds some more color options to your wardrobe." 

Jack's blank stare must have tipped Tan off that he'd been lost. Tan smiled and shook his head. "Let's just go to the store and I'll show you."

Twenty minutes and a car ride later, they were at the highest quality clothes store in town: the local Target. Tan marched Jack past the hoodies that he paused to look at and straight to the button up shirts. 

"We can find you something comfortable that fits you better," Tan said as he pulled a medium wash, long sleeves blue jean shirt off the rack. He held it up to Jack to eyeball the size. "I think you've been buying a size too big in everything you own. Here," He handed Jack the shirt and quickly found a white V-neck T-shirt to go under it, "And let's get you into some simple black jeans." 

After collecting the pieces for the outfit, Tan ushered Jack into the fitting rooms and waited outside. Jack wasn’t too sure about this new style. He could easily throw on a hoodie and his old jeans and achieve the same comfort and warmth in two minutes flat. But, once he got it on and inspected himself in the mirror, he could see what Tan was talking about. He looked more put together, as if he'd taken longer than two minutes to dress himself. He looked _good_. 

"What do you think?" Jack asked as he stepped out of the changing room. 

"Damn Jack, you look hotter than Shrek in an oven!"

Jack jumped when he was greeted not by Tan, but by Jerry with Tan smirking behind him. _They'd set this up._ Jack's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. He'd never felt embarrassed around Jerry before, but something about being cat called in a department store while wearing all new clothes hit different. 

"Was that a compliment, or?" Tan didn't understand the gravity of Jerry's statement. Fortunately, Jack did.

"O-okay," He stuttered. 

"Jack, you look good!" Tan insisted, noticing his sudden drop in confidence. "Own it!" 

"Yeah! Let's see a catwalk!"

"I'm not doing that." Jack was putting his foot down at that. 

"Okay, well, at least try these other things on," Jerry thrusted an armful of sweaters, flannels, and pants at him. "I helped pick some out. There's something a little special in there for ya'," He winked, and Jack was afraid.

It turned out the "something special" was a bright pink crop top with the words "Valley Girl" printed in gold glitter on the front. "Jerry, I'm not putting this on!" He shouted from behind the dressing room door.

"Aw come on Jacky boy, don't be shy!"

This escalated into a whole scene that ended with Jerry climbing under the door to the dressing room and putting the crop top on himself because he, "Couldn't let this gem get away."

Jack was in the middle of pulling a green sweater over his head. When he got it settled on himself, he realized just how small this dressing room was, especially with two grown men squeezed inside of it. Jonathan's advice suddenly popped into his head, and before he could stop himself, the words were falling out of his mouth.

"Do you wanna' go on a date or something?"

Jack froze, horrified at what he'd just done. What if Jerry said no? What if he laughed? What if- He was being too quiet. Jack slowly raised his eyes to look at Jerry, who looked stunned. Then, a broad smile broke across the blonde's face. 

"Uh, hell yeah!" He excitedly burst out of the dressing room door and threw his hands up, the crop top showing off his treasure trail and pale stomach. 

"Jerry, Jesus Christ I don't have pants on!" Jack yelled as he slammed the dressing room door shut again.


	7. Cuisine

"So, first off, I have some questions, comments, and concerns." Antoni greeted the trio upon their return to the house, and Jack was whisked away to the kitchen. "First, why is there a gnome in your refrigerator?"

Jack shrugged. "They occur naturally."

"Second, how long has this off brand ham been in there?" He set the package of old lunch meat in front of Jack accusingly. 

"Not that long. It should still be good," Jack prodded the package and leaned down to inspect the ham. 

"There's _slime_ on it," Antoni turned it over to point at a gooey spot.

"Oh."

"I assumed the left side of the refrigerator was Jerry's, so I thankfully don't have to ask what _this_ is," He pushed aside a plastic container full of a black mystery liquid, "But all I see on your side is that ham, two Craft singles, and half a loaf of bread."

Antoni turned back around to look at Jack. 

"I eat a lot of sandwiches," Jack said, totally not defensive. 

"Then why is the ham going bad?"

"Well, since Jerry moved in, he does most of the cooking."

"Oh no," Antoni's eyes widened.

"It's okay, he's a pretty good cook half the time."

Antoni was already chunking the ham, processed cheese, and stale bread in the trash. "Well, I'm going to show you how to fend for yourself for the other half." 

He bent down and hauled up several paper bags of groceries onto the counter. Antoni pulled a bell pepper out and set it in front of Jack. "This is what we call a vegetable," He said jokingly. "We're gonna' make shrimp and vegetables skewers for your adorable backyard date tonight."

"Like, on the big grill out back?" Jerry had brought home this giant smoker/grill that someone had put on the side of the road and refurbished it. Jack was always afraid to use it, lest he burn his eyebrows off. 

"No, I got you something a little less intimidating." Antoni pulled a table top grill out of one of the kitchen cabinets where he'd been hiding it. "It's electric, and less likely to result in a trip to the emergency room."

Jack let out a sigh of relief and watched attentively as Antoni showed him how to peel and vein the shrimp. He'd never been much of a cook, but as Antoni said, "If you can read, you can cook." He'd written all of his recipes down in case Jack needed to reference them.

The skewers didn't take long to cook at all, and Jack found the process strangely enjoyable. Was this why Jerry was always so keen to cook? Antoni walked him through a few other basic cooking skills while he worked, like how to make a simple pasta dish and how to cook steaks. He also said that if Jack reverted to eating old lunch meat again, he'd be back. And that definitely sounded like a threat.

The sun was setting outside as Jack carried his platter of proudly displayed skewers out back to the newly refurbished backyard. Bobby and his crew had worked _fast_ on their project. Jerry was lounging at their new outside dining table and grinned that goofy smile of his and waved. Jack didn't know why he felt nervous. This was _Jerry_ after all. They'd been sharing a house for almost a year now! 

He slid into his seat. Jack had picked out his own outfit for their backyard date: the white, short sleeved button up with little squirrels embroidered on it that Jerry had picked out, and a pair of black slacks. 

"Heya hot stuff," Jerry greeted him. 

"Hey Jerry." 

The Fab 5 watched from the doorway, and gave Jack thumbs ups and big smiles when he glanced over before Karamo ushered them away to give the two some privacy. 

"So," Jack started, not sure how to kick this date off. How long had it been since he'd been on an actual date? "I, uh, I made these." He gestured at the food.

"They look great! Hey, did they find that gnome I put in the fridge?" 

" _You_ did that? I thought they were just following us home now!"

"They are. I found it in my shower first. Little guy scared the shit out of me!" 

Jack laughed. And just like they, they were talking and enjoying themselves like they always did. It felt natural. It felt okay. _Better_ than okay! For once, Jack could look at himself and feel a touch of pride. 


	8. The Follow Up

"What do I say?"

"Just read the script, dude."

"Okay. Uh, I just wanna' say thanks to the Fab Five for everything they've done for me. For _us_." Jack was sat next to Jerry on the couch in front of the camera. He held Jerry's hand in his, a bit nervous being filmed. 

The shot cut to a scene of Jack and Jerry sitting by their new firepit in the backyard, roasting marshmallows, talking loudly, and laughing. Then a shot of them walking around downtown together. The voice over continued.

"If not for you guys, I probably would never had the courage to change, Jerry and I wouldn't be together, and I'd still be washing my hands with Suave 2 in 1." 

"Dude I can't believe you did that." 

Jack elbowed Jerry, who grinned. The camera was back on them now. 

"Anyway," Jack said, "I just made this video to say thank you. I'm glad you guys didn't give up on me."

"Alright, enough with the mushy stuff, c'mere!" The video cut out as Jerry pulled Jack towards him for a kiss.

  
  
  
  



End file.
